The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that an outbreak of hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius is not the beginning of a pandemic, emphasizing its different transmission method compared to COVID-19.

• Five of eight suspected hantavirus cases have been confirmed, with three deaths reported to date.
• Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the WHO, reassured that hantavirus spreads through "close, intimate contact" and is not comparable to COVID-19 or influenza.
• Dozens of passengers who disembarked in St Helena on April 24 are being traced, with health authorities in various countries monitoring returning travelers.